Obama Inauguration Tickets A Hot Item

December 03, 2012|By JENNY WILSON, Special to the Courant, The Hartford Courant

Connecticut residents may have missed out on the Powerball jackpot, but they can try their luck in lotteries to win a ticket to President Barack Obama's second inauguration.

Because so many constituents are interested in attending the event, some members of Connecticut's congressional delegation say they will draw names to figure out who gets tickets to the 57th presidential inauguration on Jan. 21.

Despite Obama's substantial popularity in Connecticut – he beat Romney by 270,000 votes in the state on Election Day – only a limited number of free inauguration tickets are available. While anyone can travel to Washington, D.C., for the event to watch it on a screen from the National Mall, only about 250,000 reserved spots exist close to the ceremony.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Sen.-elect Chris Murphy each get 300 tickets to hand out, while the state's five House members receive 177 tickets each.

"We are basically taking requests right now from any constituents who are interested," said Chris Licata, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. John Larson. He said Larson's office will use a lottery to give out tickets. "That's the only fair way to do it."

Blumenthal, Murphy and U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro have already decided to hold lotteries to ensure fairness in distributing tickets, and some may place limits on how many people can receive. Other members of the delegation say they are considering a lottery as well.

Josh Zembik, communications director for U.S. Rep. Joseph Courtney, said that they are "taking care of people in the 2nd District." Zembik said they would probably also hold a drawing, assuming the number of requests they receive is greater than the tickets they have available. "Once you exceed the 177, you want to do something that's fair."

Four years ago, scalpers were charging thousands of dollars for the tickets. The 2008 swearing-in ceremony for Obama is considered to be the largest event ever held in Washington, by one estimate attracting 1.8 million people. Only 250,000 had tickets that got them close to the ceremony, which takes place in front of the U.S. Capitol.

Because the constitutionally mandated swearing in falls on a Sunday this year, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts will do it in a private ceremony on Jan. 20 at the White House. The public ceremonies, including the inauguration, will take place on Jan. 21.

Again this year, the lottery system is not the only way to obtain tickets. It's possible to go through a commercial vendor — but it will come at a price. Ticket vendor GreatSeats.com is advertising tickets for a cost of up to $12,500 each.

Blumenthal's office denounces such practices and says they will "refuse tickets to anyone determined to be selling them."

Danny Matta, who works for GreatSeats.com, said his website is nothing more than "individuals across America exercising capitalism." Matta explains that GreatSeats works like any other ticket broker, and merely serves as a connection point between the buyer and the seller.

"It's almost always the same story,'' Matta said. "Somebody coming from South Carolina has written to the congressman and gotten four seats when they only need two. They see that there is a market to sell the other two, and they need the money to pay for the trip."

The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies does not discuss ticketing procedures and stays out of the process once tickets are allocated to states. "Members of the 113th Congress receive tickets from the joint committee, and then are free to distribute those tickets however they choose," said committee spokesman Matt House.

Though the burden falls on congressional delegations to distribute tickets, many others are invited to attend the ceremony. This includes governors and outgoing members of Congress. So while retiring Sen. Joe Lieberman may attend the ceremony, he has no tickets to hand out.